Mary Griggs

Mary Carol Griggs passed away on April 29 at Friendship Village, Sunset Hills, Missouri. She is survived by her sister Sara Griggs and brother-in-law, Richard Warner. Mary was a long-time Missouri resident, having lived for 25 years in a house she built in Winter Valley (Fenton) in 2000, after previously residing in Crestwood. Mary was born in 1948 in Carbondale, Illinois, to Edra Mae (Benedict) Griggs and James Edward Griggs. The family lived in Louisville, Illnois for many years before moving to Paxton, Illinois, where Mary graduated from Paxton High School in 1966. She was then accepted to Southern Illinois University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education in 1971 and received her master's degree in 1979. Mary's love of girl scouting began at an early age, assisting troop leaders in high school. As a college student Mary spent three summers as a Unit Assistant and Unit Leader for Girl Scout Camps in Three Lakes, Wisconsin and Muskegon, Michigan. After earning her master's degree, Mary became Director of Membership Support Services for the Girl Scouts of River Bluffs Council in Illinois and in 1991 she became the council's Chief Executive Officer. In 1996, she was chosen to be one of 59 leaders for the Leadership Center of Greater St. Louis. She initiated the The Rosebud chorus of Girl Scouts. Under her leadership, the River Bluffs council grew extensively, both in the number of girls and the number of volunteers who participated. Mary also worked tirelessly to secure the council's financial stability. In 2005, she was inducted into the Girl Scout Staff Association Hall of Fame in a ceremony in Atlanta, GA. In 2009, just prior to her retirement, the River Bluffs and Shagbark Councils joined to become the Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois. A report in the Southern Illinoisan at that time noted that the Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois served approximately 16,000 girls and 4,800 adult volunteers in more than 40 counties. Mary played a central role in the organization's birth and success. In addition to her work with the Girl Scouts, Mary was an exceptionally talented musician. Growing up in Paxton she studied to be a concert pianist. Her teacher, Olga Baquero, was a renowned classical concert pianist who performed in concerts worldwide and arranged to have Mary perform for Igor Stravinksy. In high school she participated in the concert band, stage band, pep band, chorus, madrigals, and musicals. In college, she performed in the Oratorio Society choir. She played guitar, banjo, flute and trombone and would occasionally play taps on the bugle to close the day at scout camps. Throughout her life Mary combined her unique skills in music and early childhood education to better the lives of countless young girls and empower them towards a brighter future.

Mary Griggs

April 16, 1948 - April 29, 2025